Prince Harry issues a tongue-in-cheek challenge to his competitors in the race to the South Pole — the Brits will have some tea “ready for you when you join us at the Pole.”

Britain's Prince Harry (left) tries on a team jacket during the launch of the Walking with the Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge 2013, in London on Friday.

By:The Associated Press, Published on Fri Apr 19 2013

LONDON—Prince Harry said Friday he will take part in a race to the South Pole later this year, leading a team of wounded British military personnel against counterparts from Australia, Canada and the United States.

In a tongue-in-cheek challenge issued at a news conference, the 28-year-old Royal warned his competitors that the Brits would have some tea “ready for you when you join us at the Pole.”

Harry and his fellow Walking With The Wounded teammates will participate in the 335-kilometre South Pole Allied Challenge in November and December of this year.

That may be the height of the Antarctic summer, but conditions will still be bitterly cold. The four-week expedition will see racers drag sleds weighing more than 68 kilograms and face extreme temperatures and savage winds.

Harry has already taken part in one expedition with Walking With The Wounded, a charity that raises funds and keeps injured servicemen and women in the public eye through feats of endurance.

In 2011, he took part in the charity’s North Pole trek, but had to withdraw early to attend his brother Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.

During the news conference, Harry was given a red polar coat by adventurer Inge Solheim, who served as the North Pole treks’ guide.

This time around Solheim will be the guide for the American team from Soldiers to Summits, which is made up of Mark Wise from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Therese Frentz, from Del Rio, Texas, Margaux Mange, from Lakewood, Colorado, and Ivan Castro, from Raeford, North Carolina.